Square - Potala Palace GP4
Square - Potala Palace
As most of you have realised by now, I am passionate – no, make that obsessive – about travel. I keep a long wish list, which is forever growing rather than shrinking, but that's another story.
For years the Potala Palace – once the home of the now-exiled Dalai Lama in Tibet – was at the top of my list. As we drove in from the airport, we passed through the square in front of the palace, and I was very surprised – and somewhat disappointed - that I felt nothing. No excitement, no buzz, no real emotion at all. Just a recognition: “Oh, there's the Potala Palace”.
We settled into our hotel and as we were getting ready to go out, David called me over to the window. “Look at this view Grete!”
I looked. No longer unaffected by the realisation of a dream, tears started welling up in my eyes and soon I was blubbering. “Oh my gawd” I whimpered between sobs, “it's the Potala Palace!”
Totally overcome with emotion (I am not ashamed to admit that I have tears running down my face now, as I write this, remembering the feeling as it was yesterday), I was a snivelling wreck for a good while before finally managing to pull myself together enough to take some photos.
Square - Potala Palace GP4
Square - Potala Palace
As most of you have realised by now, I am passionate – no, make that obsessive – about travel. I keep a long wish list, which is forever growing rather than shrinking, but that's another story.
For years the Potala Palace – once the home of the now-exiled Dalai Lama in Tibet – was at the top of my list. As we drove in from the airport, we passed through the square in front of the palace, and I was very surprised – and somewhat disappointed - that I felt nothing. No excitement, no buzz, no real emotion at all. Just a recognition: “Oh, there's the Potala Palace”.
We settled into our hotel and as we were getting ready to go out, David called me over to the window. “Look at this view Grete!”
I looked. No longer unaffected by the realisation of a dream, tears started welling up in my eyes and soon I was blubbering. “Oh my gawd” I whimpered between sobs, “it's the Potala Palace!”
Totally overcome with emotion (I am not ashamed to admit that I have tears running down my face now, as I write this, remembering the feeling as it was yesterday), I was a snivelling wreck for a good while before finally managing to pull myself together enough to take some photos.